Rabat – International laboratories and research centers are racing to find a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic and Starklab, chaired by Moroccan scientist Jaouad Zemmouri, is making innovative strides.
Head of the laboratory and a Fez native, Zemmouri recently featured the assets of a new invention to media in France, where he pursued post-graduate and doctoral studies.
The solution, based on aerosolization of hydrogen peroxide in a room at low temperatures, can clean tables, chairs, and other furniture without the need of another disinfection system.
The innovation appealed to France’s Defense Innovation Agency (AID), which hand-picked it as an important state investment in the fight against COVID-19.
The project, Terraopur, costs €300,000. It is now under development with the help of AID, Zemmouri recalled in an August 24 interview with La Voix Du Nord.
AID provided €180,000, whereas the urban community of Dunkirk put up €60,000 to make the innovation happen.
The French-Moroccan scientist unveiled that his lab worked along the Institut Pasteur to ensure his invention properly functions biologically.
Zemmouri also had the idea of developing a technology to fight nosocomial diseases. He may consider it in a few years, “in 2024 or 2025.”
The inventor, who has filed 26 patents with the USPTO over the past 16 years, said that such innovations take time.
“While it will initially be dedicated to the fight against the coronavirus, the Terraopur process may have many applications,” he added.
The scientist explained that the Starklab innovation will be able to destroy COVID-19, as well as bacteria and fungi.
The technology is adaptable for hospitals and high schools, making it possible to quickly minimize the risk of the transmitting infection.
Vice President of Starklab and Zemmouri’s wife Audrey Keunebrock said the Terratherm team, the production subsidiary of the Starklab, is now focusing on industrializing the process in record time.
Zemmouri aspires to see the innovation working by October.
He said he will ask “the region to help get a production tool quickly.”
Zemmouri repeatedly expressed determination that his innovation will work to fight the pandemic.
In June, Zemmouri spoke about the Terrao project, explaining that it was initially developed to control the atmosphere of industrial environments to prevent fatal overheating.
“With Terrao, our initial goal was to provide a smoke treatment system that combines the functionality of an industrial scrubber with a high-performance heat exchanger,” he said.
The scientist explained that the innovation’s compact design can quickly “process large volumes of gas or smoke” and relies on “the mixing of gas in the liquid.”
Zemmouri explained that the Starklab project also provides a solution for treatment and disinfection of air in confined spaces, which might be a direct factor in the appearance of COVID-19 clusters.
